Chapter 58

"Something's off for sure." I exclaimed as I was still sitting cross-legged in my sealed training room

It was soon time for me to join Shuzo in the Land of Demons and for the last few weeks, I kept on nurturing the tailed beats' chakra I had yet to complete.

But at the same time, I pondered a while about Shisui, and more importantly about Chikako.

The fact that she vanished in a time of war was not necessarily something unexpected, it happens, and a Jōnin who survived whatever fell on them said that she died, only because he couldn't find her after.

The evidence that the intruder was, according to Chizu, a woman and one who left Shisui to Kazae make it obvious that it was Chikako...

But Chizu's blood tracking didn't work on her, which meant that she either assimilated someone else's cells to a point of changing the scent, or she was currently possessed by Black Zetsu whose blood scent was yet to be known by Chizu if he had any.

But then, why would she work with him and Madara? Did they saved her from death... If so, she wouldn't act so discrete and not stay hidden, I don't see any grudge she could hold against Konoha.

I could only see one possibility for Black Zetsu to take her with him... She awakened her Mangekyô Sharingan during the war and whatever they could do was something useful for him.

Now, they shouldn't be able to alienate her to his side as they did to Obito in the canon since nothing dramatic happened, at least to my knowledge.

They surely didn't threaten her about killing her child either, or bringing him here would be pointless.

This means that they somehow can control her behavior, and the fact that Black Zetsu was merged with her is greatly proving the possible unwillingness she has about working with them.

And knowing that her child is Shisui, who in the canon has a strong mind-controlling Mangekyô ability which stays the same for both eyes, I can only assume that Chikako's ability is the same to some extent.

Mangekyô abilities are usually hereditable, with some alterations, since both Itachi and Sasuke could use Amaterasu, albeit it was with one eye for Itachi and Sasuke could control it further with the other.

This was nothing but an assumption since I don't think that Madara has the same ability as mine in terms of Dōjutsu or he would have been even more dangerous.

Going back to Chikako, I'm assuming that Black Zetsu took over her body to cast a mind-controlling Genjutsu similar to Shisui's on herself.

Now it could be different, maybe she experienced something during the war that made her join them, but again, why would she bring Shisui to Konoha?

No, more importantly, why did Black Zetsu bring Shisui to Konoha?

As far as I noticed, there is no weird fluctuation around Shishui, and he shouldn't fall under a Genjutsu when still being an infant...

But he wouldn't bring him to me as a gift, it would be far too kind and stupid considering how strong he will become.

For now, I will watch him closely and will know rapidly if something is wrong since I know his character from the canon.

There are two things that Black Zetsu does not know along with my knowledge about the future.

I can sense him when he is around Konoha unless I am stuck inside my training chamber... And I have a second Mangekyô ability that nobody knows about since it freezes time outside and everyone struck by it will not remember its usage.

The only exception for the last is Kurama who knows about it, but even if he wanted to tell someone, he wouldn't be able to mutter a word.

If something is wrong with Shisui, I will simply use Kunitokotachi and override whatever they did.

My newly awakened Rinnegan will make it even easier.

"Nonetheless, let's beat up Mōryō." I said as I was getting up before leaving the room and quickly moved back to the house

It was time for us to move towards the Land of Demons and to do so, we would use the Ancor Vantian which is almost finished but had still no one operating it for now.

It could stay invisible to the naked eye as we travel which is more than helpful to not scare people until it is known as a giant flying cruise ship.

"We will come back as soon as possible, I promise." I said to Tsunade as I was hugging her while being careful because of her bulging belly

"If you're not back before the labor, I will kill you." Tsunade replied half-joking while still being in my embrace

"When I said that I could die for you, I'm pretty sure that I didn't mean it like that." I exclaimed before chuckling though I had a little drop of sweat running on my face

She smiled at my answer before leaning her head back, waiting for something as she closed her eyes.

"Such a spoiled girl…" I mumbled before kissing her for a while until a cough interrupted us

Breaking the kiss I heard a "Sorry to interrupt you, but the Ancor Vantian is ready to go." from Konan who looked away embarrassed

"Let's get going then." I said as I turned towards her and saw Hizashi and Shikuro both waiting for me as well

"Stay safe." Tsunade said as she waves her hand before I did so as well and then performed the Flying Thunder God to teleport the four of us to the fortress

More precisely, we appeared on the roof of the tallest building which served as a private garden with a large pool to the side and a place serving as a heliport for a future invention.

"There are a hundred floors in this building without counting the underground, the last ten floors are only for the staff while the last floor is my apartment... You can go in and out of it as you wish, I've got enough room for each of you, the rest has yet to be filled with furniture." I explained as I started to move towards the veranda while they looked around amazed by the view

"Those drones can show you around the fortress, they also have a map integrated, just ask them if you need to go somewhere, you've got free time to visit until we get to the Land of Demons, as for me, I will go relax in the jacuzzi for a while." I added before going inside my apartment while three drones flew around Konan, Shikuro, and Hizashi

This building was the main hotel and also one of the few places that had yet to be finished, at least for the staff rooms.

There was a place where I gathered a few hot springs, jacuzzies, hammams, and interior pools as well as a place where you will get relaxing massages, but the jacuzzi I was moving towards was situated within my apartment, perks of being extremely large.

Also, the strong wind that we should feel on top of the tower since the fortress was flying quite fast was greatly reduced to the point of being a welcomed breeze thanks to a specific barrier.

'If I had better knowledge about technology, I would have built so much more... I'm far from being Tony Stark' I thought as I may be able to build facilities or create medicines of all kinds but couldn't do more than improving the AI of the drones to have them capable of replying to people's questions as long as I knew the answer

Regardless, I was going to enjoy the trip in my jacuzzi and grab a drink as well because why not?

Taking off my clothes to change into my swimsuit which consisted of a short, I attached my hair in a ponytail and moved inside the tub while activating the bubble system as well as the water heater.

"Aaah~ It's been so long since I could be inside a jacuzzi." I said out loud as I had my head hanging outside of the tub while my arms were extended on the tub's edge

*Knock Knock*

"Hm? Come in." I said as I sensed that it was Konan who struggled to enter

"Can I massage your shoulders, Yuichi-sama?" Konan asked as she closed the door behind her

"If you want, I'm feeling pretty stiff since Tsunade didn't do it for a while now." I said before shifting my gaze towards her to realize that she was wearing her swimsuit

"H-how is it?" she asked slightly embarrassed when I looked at her

'Hm? Ah let's go with the automatic response number 3' I thought as I seized her two pieces black colored swimsuit

"It looks good on you." I said with a smile which affected her as well since she was no longer embarrassed but instead smiled before nearing me from behind ready to massage my shoulders

Tsunade taught her some of her massaging skills, the 'legal' part of it, and since Konan is a great learner, it shouldn't be bad.

And as expected, it felt great as soon as she started, though her hands were cold because of the lotion she brought with her.

"How's your Paper Release training going?" I asked as my upper body muscles were loosening up and my eyes were closed

"I successfully did what you hinted and by infusing different nature chakra in my papers, I could give them different stronger effects which opened more possibilities for me." she said as her hands continued to massage my shoulders

"By using a bit more of Wind Release, I can make them even sharper and capable of cutting Ninjutsu, by using Earth Release I can make them sturdier enough to not break against most physical attacks and a few Ninjutsu as well, and Water Release allowed me to make them almost invisible by reflecting light." she continued explaining without acting overly proud like many children would do at her age

"And I know that you have a lot of talent in Fūinjutsu as well... You're going to be one of the most amazing and terrifying Kunoichi in the future, Konan." I said while being completely honest about my praise

I felt her hand flinch for a moment, surely because she got flustered by my words.

"You can come inside and relax as well when you finished, you should enjoy the trip before it's too late." I added since I didn't want her to be a workaholic like Chizu

"If it doesn't bother you Yuichi-sama, then I will gladly join you!" she happily said as her hands moved faster than before on my back

'I mean, I built this jacuzzi and all I can say is that it's extremely enjoyable to be inside' I thought as I nodded my head at Konan's will to join me

I set the fortress' speed to be cruise-like since we left Konoha sooner than required, and that was only because I wanted to enjoy the first few installations it had.

When everything will be properly running, I will bring Tsunade and our child on holiday here...

He's or she's going to have an easy life, I can't deny it, but I will still be strict with his or her training as a shinobi and in his or her education.

I don't want my child to become an arrogant young master just because of his family or talent.

I still had some hesitation for the staff to be composed of many clones of myself that are all transformed into random people... But doing so, I feel like this place would be fake and for some reason, I think about the Truman Show.

I will use clones, that's inevitable, but if I can enroll many competent people, even if they need some training, it would give jobs to people who may need it, and their families will be able to live here as well.

And no need to say that their pay is going to be amazing as well... Money is far from being an issue since the day I made shops across the continent.

'Let's stop thinking about that for now and enjoy the trip before working' I thought as Konan finished her massage and joined me inside the jacuzzi

===================

*A few days later*

"Alright, let's recapitulate." I first said as I had my three followers in front of me

"Shuzo arrived at the Land of Demons some months ago and was able to meet the current high priestess of the country, on the behalf of Konoha, and gave her a scroll that I wrote which is why we can be here." I started explaining as Shikuro looked at me silently, Hizashi also stayed calm but only on the outside as he was eager to face any type of foe, and finally Konan was able to hide her joy behind a cold-looking expression

"The current high priestess is called Miroku, she may be young but she is far from being inexperienced... I don't need to tell you that you will need to be respectful towards her as Konoha's shinobi." I added, receiving from the three listeners a nod of agreement

"The fact that the demon called Mōryō will soon resurrect is not something that should be divulged, nor one that we should have been aware of. But because we did, thanks to Shiromari, we will help them get rid of the demon, build a great relationship between our country, and also fulfill a promise I made with Shiromari almost fifteen years ago." I continued explaining before taking a short breath to add "I know that the last one is selfish... That's why only you three came with me since you are working under me aside from my role of being the Hokage."

They all smiled at my last sentence which was making me delighted that they didn't mind my selfishness, so I declared "I guess all I'm doing for you as your leader is the reason as to why you are not complaining." with a smile of my own

"Let's fly down shall we, I did warn them that we would be coming from above." I suggested as my clothes changed into my Hokage's attire and my bracer morphed into a middle-sized Shiromari

The four of us then settled on Shiromari's back and quickly flew down towards the Priestess' Compound with a decent speed to not scare them too much.

Nearing the ground, we saw a huge number of guards with Japanese attire that consisted of a yellow vest with grey armor over a white collared kimono jacket, a purple hakama as a pant, a quiver, and black sandals.

We started to land in the giant courtyard where Shiromari's size was not an issue, and as he touched the ground, it produced a lot of dust which hid our arrival, but I sensed that a few guards already pointed their arrows at us, ready to fire if we tried anything weird.

"State your names!" one of the guards yelled as he couldn't see us behind the dust cloud

Wishing to flex a little, I moved my hand down which made all the dust fall flat on the ground without affecting any of us, by combining both my Wind Release proficiency with my gravity control.

"Yuichi Senju, Fourth Hokage. I came here as planned with your mistress, Miroku-san, to help you get rid of Mōryō on Konoha's behalf." I said as my cape was floating slightly on my side

"The Hokage?! Miroku-sama did warn us about your arrival, forgive me for my previous impolite behavior, I knew that you would be coming from the sky since you are known as the 'One-Winged Angel' but I didn't expect you to be on top of a giant chameleon... I thought that they all died a long time ago." a middle-aged man with round glasses and an orange vest instead of the yellow one declared as he bowed slightly

"This fellow was not here when the tragedy happened... But now, he will be able to get his revenge." I said as scratched Shiromari's cheek when I got down from his back

My three teammates also got down and Shiromari transformed back into his chibi self as he stayed silent since we came here.

"Let me guide you towards Miroku-sama, she's certainly with the shinobi from your village that came here a while ago..." the guard said as he looked depressed by what he just announced

"Shuzo? What did he do?" I asked as we walked towards the temple and climbed the numerous stairs that were in front of us

"That 'boy' got our young mistress' affection somehow when staying with us..." the guard said as tears were forming in his eyes

'Again? He already got an Uzumaki stuck with him' I thought as I facepalmed

One thing that Shuzo had was his Shonen protagonist attitude, completely carefree, easygoing, and friendly while being completely oblivious to everything related to love.

Though, he still looked like a shota even though he was 23 years old, with long hair like mine and effeminate traits.

Nevertheless, two guards opened up the giant entrance door, and after a while of walking inside the corridor, the guard that led us knocked on a smaller door where I could sense Shuzo's presence behind, accompanied by an Uzumaki, the priestess, and finally some guards around the room.

When a voice gave the guard permission to open the door, we were greeted by Shuzo who cheerfully said "It's been a long time, Yuichi-sama!" to which I replied "It sure did, Shuzo." as I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled back

"It is a pleasure to meet the man whom I kept hearing the name and deeds." a pale skinned girl with long brown hair and light-colored eyes said as she got up from her seat while I saw Shuzo scratch his head embarrassedly

"The pleasure is mine, Miroku-san, it's not every day that a man can see the only high priestess in the continent." I said as I saw her point towards a chair that was intended for me while my followers would have to be a bit further

While I moved closer to where I would sit down, I saw the young Uzumaki girl looking at me while fidgeting, as if she had something to ask me.

"You are Honoka-san, right? Shuzo told me about his trip and how he saved you." I said as I stopped not far from her which gave her enough composure to reply "Y-yes! I'm Honoka Uzumaki, nice to meet you Yuichi-sama!"

With a smile, I declared "We will have to talk later, at least after the current crisis is over, since you are a survivor of your clan, it's something important to me." before moving again towards the table where the priestess was waiting for me

Once I sat down, and Miroku sat back as well, a guard came with two cups of tea, something I was getting tired of but still liked in the end.

"Let's get straight to the point, shall we." I suggested as I sipped a bit of tea before adding "How much time do we have before Mōryō's seal breaks again?"

Miroku looked at me with a serious look fitting for someone of her caliber and replied "We have forty-eight hours." which surprised me a little since it was a bit earlier than I expected

'The fun is coming' I thought with a smirk

Now, we just need to prepare ourselves, and if nothing unexpected happens, I will finally be able to use Senjutsu without drawbacks.